With $400K From Ben Franklin, Kapsul Gets to Work on ‘smart’ Air Conditioner

Kapsul Air, the Center City company behind Philly’s biggest biggest Indiegogo campaign — a whopping $2.3 million in 2016 for preorders of its smart air conditioner — says that after eight re-designs, they should start shipping the sleek product in the summer.

Of 2019.

Cofounder and CEO Kurt Swanson will be the first to tell you about the wide-ranging effort of research and development that has gone into Noria, an mobile-app-operated window unit that promises to be twice as quiet as regular air conditioners. Originally due for the summer of 2017, the company today says it underestimated the project’s engineering challenges.

“It took a huge a mount of iteration but the entire supply chain is now in place,” Swanson said. “I’m pleased to say we’re ready to manufacture today and we’re testing sample units right now.”

The company, which currently employs a team of seven out of its Center City offices, just announced some additional funding to the tune of $400,000 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners. The funds helped the company work on go-to-market strategy and bring aboard a community manager to communicate with the company’s backers.